IT Support for IT Managers

Working in IT you may be acutely aware of the challenges, costs and frustrations associated with windows desktop management, which are legendary.

Controlling windows software and installed applications under centralised control is really the best way to deliver cost effective and scaleable desktop deployments. Even with a small installation of say 2-10 worksations the cost per workstation to install and maintain PC’s in an unmanaged manner is still much higher than most business’s should tolerate.

Our experience is that many thousands of office based PC installations, even to this day are not centrally controlled. In that scenario the people responsible for IT may often find they constantly diverted from their core business activity in order to rectify an unexpected or unpredictable windows or user related challenge.

Centralised control may be established in a variety of ways:

• Desktop Imaging.
• Silent installation bundles.
• Roaming Profiles.
• Personal Folder re-direction.
• Virtual Machines (VDI).
• Terminal Services (Citrix ICA or RDP).

Each of these technologies or techniques requires complex configuration and management and each has its benefits and drawbacks.

None of the expertise required to establish a centralised management regime or cost effective IT infrastructure is directly assisting the business, for example to find new ways of working, applications, better office workflow or business methodologies. The infrastructure activity at best simply tames and controls the operating system platform, or at worst leaves the workstations unmanaged and costly to maintain.

Carrington Blake have adopted the best of the available technologies to deliver an entire Windows platform as a cloud service (TopDesk). This product not only resolves the desktop management problems, but also delivers true business continuity (twin data centres), DR, Backup, and 24×7 user help desk.

The underlying technology is built upon Terminal Services using Windows Server 2008R2 enhanced by Citrix XenApp and HDX technology including the windows 7 experience, MS Office and enterprise exchange server. TopDesk delivers the best cost benefit ratio of all of the centralised virtualisation technologies available today. To replicate TopDesk in house, with the hardware and software licenses is these days simply not cost effective.

TopDesk is pre-installed, optimised and is available immediately on-demand, allowing IT staff to offload the mundane work (which is gradually being de-skilled anyway) and to focus more on adding value to the business they work for.

In terms of career move this is really a good thing to do because the IT Manager now has more opportunity to deliver a better service with less effort and complication and to move upwards through the company without being distracted by annoying service based incidents which have a habit or coming as a storm at the worst possible time.

Carrington Blake’s TopDesk product is worth a look and will save the business about 40% overall for IT Support. Check us out now and call 0207 537 6622 for a discussion or appraisal.

 

 

Servers

Devices

Networking

Software

• Server Maintenance/Management
  Almost every single one of your business services in today’s technology driven environment is highly likely to be underpinned by computer servers. This means that optimally running servers are critical for your business success, and servers which perform poorly can represent a real vulnerability to your business. This is why server maintenance and management is so important. Server failure can impact a large number of users, as well as customers. Our Server Maintenance/Management service is proactive in that we identify issues before they affect your business. The service includes:

  • Do you already have one or more networks and a number of users?
  • Are you looking for things like PC support, anti-virus protection, network management, hardware support and server handling?
  • Do you require help to ensure that everyone in your organisation has the right file and email access?

  If you are lacking an IT department, or your IT department simply does not have the resources to support the server needs of your business as it grows, contact us to speak to a specialist about how we can help optimise your business performance with our Server Maintenance/Management service.

• Desktop Support
  In small to medium sized businesses, you can not afford for user desk tops to fail. When user desk tops fail, worker productivity falls dramatically, which then impacts your bottom line. If you have a large number of users, or users spread over multiple locations, solving desk top issues can be costly and time consuming- again, impacting your bottom line.

  Our network of engineers are qualified to deal with desktops from all manufacturers and can get to you, wherever you are, quickly. With access to necessary parts and equipment, it is the priority of our engineers to get your users up and running as quickly as possible, going over and above what is possible with manufacturers guarantees.

  Our desktop support service includes the following to help maximise user productivity when desk tops fail:

  • Desktop support for all manufacturers
  • Fixing or replacing desktops
  • Data Restoration
  • PC Restore

  Do you have a large number of desktop users? Are your users spread over multiple locations with little to no support? Contact us to discuss how we can provide cost effective desktop support.

  Laptops and Mobile Device Support

  As a business owner, you may have mobile workers with company lap tops and other mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. Such tools are important, especially as the virtual work place has exploded in recent years. While this is good for business, it can make things difficult for both the user and your in house IT department if things go awry.

  Our network of qualified engineers can attend your users wherever they are, whether they are working from home, in a meeting or in the office. Each of our engineers is an expert in handling security issues. This means that special care is taken when changes are made to ensure utmost security.

  Our service means that you can rest assured that down time due to technical issues for your mobile workers is kept to an absolute minimum.

  Contact us to speak to a specialist about our laptop and mobile device support services.

• Network and Router Support
  Making sure that your network is up to the task of handling current and future demand is a full time job which requires specialist knowledge and ongoing capital investment. This can be expensive, especially for small and medium sized businesses, however, it is necessary to ensure that down time is minimised. We believe in pro-actively managing networks for businesses to ensure that any potential problems are addressed before they affect users.

  The maintenance service we provide also includes router support, to ensure that all of your information is directed in the most secure way possible. We work with leading manufacturers to ensure the solutions we provide are resilient and reliable, keeping down time to an absolute minimum.

  Networking and Router Support Benefits
  By continuously monitoring the performance and capacity of your network, we can help you enhance business agility. Constant monitoring enables us to ensure your network can keep up with the changing demands of your business, for example switching over to the Cloud or the implementation of new applications.

  Our networking and router support services include:

  • Network accessibility
  • Network administration
  • Network security
  • Setting up secure virtual private networks
  • Configuration and deployment
  • Routing protocols
  • Cabling and socket support

• Software Support
  Software and applications are necessary to the efficient running of any business. The installation of new software can seem like a mammoth task in a small to medium sized business, especially if you have multiple users across multiple sites. The virtualisation of the office can make things even more complicated with users working in different locations on mobile devices and lap tops.

  Our dedicated team of engineers are qualified to provide installation and rights configuration support nationwide. The service includes ongoing system support if required. It also means that your new software can be implemented cost effectively and painlessly, with minimal interruption to your business activities.

  Are you about to install new software? Do you need help configuring user rights for your new software? Contact us to discuss how we can help, with a qualified expert.